Júlio Francisco Blumetti Facó is an Associate Professor at the Federal University of ABC (UFABC), Brazil, where he works in the Centre for Engineering, Modelling and Applied Social Sciences and teaches in the undergraduate programme in Management Engineering and in the Graduate Programme in Engineering and Innovation Management. He holds a degree in Engineering from Instituto Mauá de Tecnologia, a postgraduate degree in Marketing from ESPM, and both a Master’s and a PhD in Business Administration from Fundação Getulio Vargas (FGV-SP).

His teaching, research and extension activities focus on innovation, innovation capability, competitiveness, public policies for innovation, operations management, and the development of new products and services. He has also held several university management positions at UFABC, including Chief of Staff, Campus Facilities Officer, and Pro-Rector for Administration.

Júlio has received national and international recognition for initiatives in innovation and education, including awards at the QS-Wharton Reimagine Education Awards. Projects led by him at UFABC were selected in 2018, received Bronze recognition in 2019, and in 2021 received Gold for Latin America and Bronze in the global Nurturing Wellbeing & Purpose category.

A person with visual impairment, Júlio lost sight in one eye in 2001 and later became blind after acquired vision loss. He does not define himself as a disability scholar, but as someone who experiences accessibility as a condition for participation, learning and human dignity. Supported by family, friends and students, he continues to work as a professor, researcher, project leader and storyteller, exploring new ways to teach, learn, innovate and reimagine education.